DSR 11 (Revised)
GM1ALD
DRAFT:
FROM:
minute/letter/teleletter/despatch/note
RE Escritt
DEPARTMENT:
Finance
TEL. NO:
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret
Secret
TO:
B Nelson Esq
Confidential
Restricted
AEF1
HM Treasury
TYPE: Draft/Final 1+
Reference
XFE 451/30
Your Reference
Copies to:
Unclassified
PRIVACY MARKING
CAVEAT...
SUBJECT:
....In Confidence HONG KONG: ISSUE OF BRITISH
Enclosures-flag(s)..
NATIONAL (OVERSEAS) PASSPORTS
1. You wrote on 24 September to record our discussion
about the financial arrangements surrounding the issue of
BN (0) passports in Hong Kong.
further discussions within the FCO and obtained
Since then we have had
additional information. These have led us to conclude
that the right course would in fact be to allow the Hong
Kong Government to retain the whole of the passport fee
and not just the amount required to cover their costs.
Our reasons are that in essence the new arrangements for
issuing passports in Hong Kong are a continuation of the
former ones under which the Government of Hong Kong
retained the full fees they collected and that on
balance we
we do not believe that we should be justified in
arguing that this is the moment for change. Indeed, to
do so could go against our wider interests.
2. The passport services which Hong Kong will perform on
behalf of the Secretary of State will be entirely for